Heavenly Shae

Heavenly Shae

Book 2: Manifold Journey

Chapter 1: "Morning Run."

Shae and two runners left Minlin City as the first rays of light lit up the road heading north. She had been awake for a few hours already, awaiting the runners and then the town guard to let them leave. There was slightly more scrutiny over her travel plans, since she wasn't a regular courier.

Once on the open road the runners started giving her side eye about her uneven loping running style that relied heavily on her stronger right leg. A bit of awkward positioning occurred between the three of them as they tried to set a pace they could all follow.

"Are you sure..?" The younger runner asked. A man nicknamed Curly, for his hair.

"Yes. This is harder because you keep slowing down." The girl claiming to be a cultivator said.

"But you're falling behind." The older runner said. A whip slim middle-aged woman called Lari. That was her given name, and she refused to say if she had a family name.

Shae didn't like that she was the 'Moe' in the group, but tried to push the coincidental superstition aside. Ugh, whatever. I don't even know what that might mean, I never really watched that show.

"My running rhythm is a bit odd. Like I said it would be. Setting a specific pace is... Agh this is stupid. If you won't listen." She leaned forwards and burst ahead of the other two. Quickly putting distance between them.

They let out soft curses, and she heard their foot-falls quicken and land harder.

She didn't put them to shame immediately. Her loping gait was hard to manage at speed. Even a few days without practice let her body forget.

She found a rhythm, but wasn't happy with it. She could still hear the others behind her, but they were not asking her to slow down yet.

The roads in this region were well made, as they likely received upkeep from Minlin city. Not surprising, especially this close, but will it stay this nice all the way to Xengo Village? she wondered. The village was supposedly a hundred li north, or about fifty kilometers. A ridiculous run for a mortal, but these people seem to take it in stride, they must be doing some kind of cultivation practice, and it's not even the end of our journey today. She shook her head.

She switched her focus to her own body instead of her companions or the journey ahead. This lunge-hop pattern is missing something. She thought back to her trip down the mountain. Yes, having the gravity assist was a big help, but that's not it.

She nodded at her thoughts, I feel weaker now. Even with more cleansing and more qi in my- "Ah!" She gasped and shook her head at herself. Breathing deep to focus on her body, she reached into her own reserve of personal power and immediately felt more comfortable.

From her Dantian she slowly drew her personally attuned qi into her channels, then some neutral qi as well. The two evenly cycled around inside her on their own, just as her demigod qi did during her run down the mountain. The name she had derived for the qi still felt ambitious, but she hadn't thought of anything else. And now that it's my personal qi, it feels even more egotistical. She huffed out the thought as she ran.

With the qi flow growing more intense, she felt the strength in her other limbs swell so she pushed harder, putting more distance between herself and the other two.

A dozen breaths later she heard a call behind her. She smirked to herself and slowed.

A shoulder glance wasn't enough to see them, and she didn't trust herself enough for a full look behind. She was spending more time in the air and didn't think she could just twist back to look so easily. It was the same problem she had had when running with the recruits a couple days ago. She was too new to this type of running, and she knew risking a tumble was silly, so she didn't.

Their footfalls were still faint, so she slowed more. She took the time to focus on her rhythm and gradually lowered her air time, giving her more control.

After that they had a quick conversation to sort out their running order and then the rest of the morning was nearly silent.

The experienced runners made a point of stopping about every ten li. Mostly to adjust clothing and hydrate. They made sure Shae was aware of how her clothing sat on her body, and where it might start to chafe. Insisting that she needed to catch these things early. If her skin was irritated it wouldn't be able to bear more stress and would quickly blister and bleed.

This was especially important for her shoes, but they were very approving of old runner Thanh's choice of footwear for her. When Shae noticed a hot spot on her left heel, Lari shared a waxy skin cream that she said was a secret recipe. It quickly soothed the irritation and seemed to prevent further irritation.

Shae had gotten a larger waterskin from Don Flatao, but it rarely neared empty. The runners had water stops planned out, so she didn't fear emptying it and drank heartily. The water stops were the same stops they made every 10 li, usually farmhouses, but a few were just lone wells or creeks that were slightly off the main road.

Halfway to the next town, Xengo Village, they stopped for an early lunch. Shae thought that they were making decent time.

"I'm surprised you are holding out so well, Wise Shae. Most first timers complain much more." Curly said with a smirk.

"Hah, well, Mister Curly, say that again near the end of the day, I'm sure I could manage some complaints by then."

Lari doubled down on the point by waving a finger. "He's correct though. Most have some concern over specific muscles and joint pain by now. You've really not trained for this?"

Shae shook her head, then fixed in thought. "Hmm... This could be qi related, I should examine myself more thoroughly. Thank you for your concern." She gave them both a slight bow, and took her leave to meditate while they ate.

A dozen slow breaths later and she was in a meditative trance. Her heart rate wasn't as low as she liked, still high from the run, I'd guess, but she had meditated through much worse.

Her personal qi, acting and feeling much like the demigod qi she had created from true divine qi, swirled through her channels. It pushed neutral qi along with it, the two in a balanced ratio close to an even split.

She had found that the neutral qi would slowly convert to her personal qi, just from being circulated. This revelation showed one benefit to why many cultivators spent so much time meditating and cycling their qi. If your Dantian had a constant conversion rate, it made sense that adding to that was important.

As her mind wondered about other cultivators, her curiosity about cultivation manuals grew. Perhaps the specific cycling directions in those manuals would also improve the conversion rate, maybe even increasing the rate within the Dantian as well!?

She mentally shook off the thoughts. That was not why she was here. She grimaced at her mental map of her body. It was sorely lacking for what she now needed. The calming nature of her divine qi was also acting as an obstruction. It might be dampening the painful feedback my muscles and joints should be giving me.

Bracing herself, she slowly moved her qi back into her Dantian. Slow enough that she wouldn't be suddenly surprised by sudden pain.

Instead, she was surprised by how normal she felt. Not perfect, certainly, but not like she had just run half a marathon. With the last of the qi stored away, she focused on her breathing and the mortal senses of her body, slipping out of meditation.

"Shae?" Lari asked when she saw the girl moving again.

She smiled at the woman, appreciating the less formal address. "Thank you for your wisdom, Lari. And you too, Curly. I did need to do that."

They glanced between each other and Curly raised an eyebrow to Shae, his mouth stuffed with bread and cheese.

"I had been using qi to supplement my strength. It was how I sped away from you the second time, when we first started out. I hadn't realized how much work it was doing to let me ignore my body."

They grimaced. "That, uh, sounds bad?" Curly asked through his food letting a few crumbs escape their fate.

The girl nodded. "The naivety of youth and inexperience. I've stored the qi away, and I can really feel the li now." She stretched and massaged her muscles for emphasis.

Lari nodded, "That's great, actually. Better to know what will hurt tomorrow than to let it break today. Words to run by." She smirked.

"Hah!" Shae laughed. "Indeed." She nodded and dug into her own food.

The rest of their run to the village was uneventful. Shae used her qi again once they were running. It was clearly reducing her fatigue so it would be a requirement to complete the run, even if she regretted it tomorrow.

As they approached the village gates, they slowed to discuss their plans. The two runners had letters to deliver and another errand or two to run. Shae didn't and just wanted to get something to eat. So they agreed to meet up at the exit gates leading to Jian Quan, where they would meet the sect caravan.

This planning turned out to be helpful as Shae was held up at the gates. Lone travelers, even cultivators, were tracked and their journeys overland were recorded in logbooks. The couriers had paperwork already in order; being regulars to this town had them through the gates with a wave.

The guard was acting uncomfortable as he gave her the news. "I apologize, Cultivator Shae, but we do need to have the shift supervisor interview you."

"And he is nearby?" Shae asked.

"Err, she should be, but we haven't seen her since lunch."

"Would she be in town? Could I go find her directly, perhaps with an escort?"

"Ah, well, no. If we had a man to spare and the runner boy has already been sent off. I could allow some leeway if your papers were... more in order. Perhaps a more official letter to the sect. " He gave her a certain look that said this could be solved with coin. She had seen it before during the early summer around Minlin City. At that time, she never had spare taels, and while she did now, she felt no need to line the guard's pockets.

"I have some time, currently. If she does not return soon enough I will simply go around the town. I've no need to spend what coin I have here." She felt proud of her subtle refusal.

"Uh, very well, miss." He waved her over to the side of the gate. A grassy area that was slightly trampled, more by cart and horse than boot.

She set her pack down and leaned against the gate-wall. After a short time she considered trying to meditate, but she wasn't sure what she could accomplish in the short time. Glancing over at the guards, they were clearly trying to ignore her, and they might succeed if she began to meditate. I might also lose track of time.

Her fingers found the hairpins on her right hand. She had made all three into rings for the run, so they couldn't fall out of her hair. A long strip of cloth replaced them, wrapping around her head as a sweatband, to keep her short hair out of her eyes. She removed that now, in hopes it could dry out before she needed to run again.

Her rings, however, gave her an idea. She could practice generating lightning.

Very quickly, the display drew the attention of the guards and many of the people in line. Most looked nervous. Finally one of the guardsmen, not the one she had originally talked to, came over.

"Excuse me, Miss Cultivator. Um, could you not lean against the wall? Just strictly speaking, it's a security concern."

She smiled politely at him, if only to ease his nerves at her causal qi use. "Alright, not a problem. Did you have a chair I could use while we wait? Maybe in the guardhouse. Some tea would also be nice." She made sure to say it loud enough the other guard would hear, and he flinched when she suggested tea.

"Uhm." He looked back at the other guard who refused to make eye contact. "You can wait in the guardhouse." He led her to it and once inside, made an excuse. "I don't believe the wait will be so long as to allow tea. I doubt the water will boil in time." His smile didn't touch his eyes, and he bowed out of the room.

The small room had no windows facing the road, only a few narrow arrow slits. She tried to spy on the guard leaving, and saw him wander directly to the first guard. He was out of her sight, but she imagined the two were having a very pleasant conversation that went something like:

"Why did you detain a cultivator?"

"I didn't think she was a real cultivator, everyone says that to just get through quickly."

"We just had a whole lot of them through here yesterday."

"But they had proper paperwork, and very nice sect robes."

"So you what? Just thought there couldn't be any others."

"Yes! What are the odds of another right behind the caravan, she should be with it, not trying to catch it."

She imagined the second guard dragging his hand over his face.

"C'mon, they usually just pay the bribe." The first complained.

"Why are you extorting people-?"

No, she thought, they wouldn't ask that in public. She tried to back the conversation up and imagine a different path it could have taken, but the moment of fun was gone.

"Um... Miss Cultivator." The second guard had returned. "We just- uh, the runner boy returned, the guard captain is busy at the north gate. So, we're going to let you into the town, uh, you did say you had plans here?"

"Just to grab fresh food, then I will be on my way with the other two couriers."

"Oh! Um, you're with some couriers? As protection?"

Shae shrugged. "I suppose if it came to a fight I would be most prepared, but mainly we were all just traveling in the same direction. Curly and Lari went through just before I was pulled aside."

He looked relieved and relaxed at the mention of the runners' names. "Ah, well! I do recall seeing those two pass through. In that case, don't worry about catching up with the guard Captain, she is a busy woman."

"Captain? I thought the other guard said shift supervisor."

"Ah, yes, same person, some people get skittish when we say Captain. Anyway, if you're here with the runners, we can let you through, they're good people. Err, not that you aren't." He paled and bowed quickly.

"Hmmm, thank you for your diligence. I am known as Wise Shae, I didn't catch your or the other guard's names."

The guard was hesitant to share but he did give his and the first guard's names, being sure to apologize to her more as he walked her through the gates, and dragging the other guard into the apology as well. After the first guard said his emotionless "Sorry." he had the guts to suggest she try a late lunch at his cousin's steamed bun stand. Shae shot him a look and he backed off.

As the second guard saw her off, he had one last thing to say. "Sorry 'bout him, but he's not wrong. Chen-Long Bao are the best in town."